Indian Wars (1780s-1890s)

Published rosters of soldiers and a history of the Indian Wars is found in: Frances Fuller Victor, Early Indian Wars of Oregon : compiled from the Oregon archives and other original sources: with muster rolls (Salem: F. C. Baker, state printer, 1904). At various libraries (WorldCat)

Mexican War (1846 to 1848)

The Mexican War was caused by the annexation of Texas by the United States in 1845. Most volunteer regiments were from southern states. Records of Mexican War veterans might exist in a state where the veteran later resided.

Mexican War Index to Pension Files, 1887–1926. (NARA T317). FHL films 0537000–13 Alphabetically arranged and includes the veteran’s name, rank, and unit; names of dependents; date of filing and application; certificate numbers; act filed under; and state from which application was made. Also available at:

Robarts, William Hugh. Mexican War Veterans : A Complete Roster of the Regular and Volunteer Troops in the War Between the United States and Mexico, from 1846-1848… Washington, D.C. : Brentano’s, 1887. FHL book 973 M2rwh Digital version available at Internet Archive.

Civil War (1861 to 1865)

See Oregon in the Civil War for information about Oregon Civil War records, web sites, etc. with links to articles about the Oregon regiments involved in the Civil War.

The regimental pages often include lists of the companies with links to the counties where the companies started. Men in the companies often lived in the counties where the companies were raised. Knowing a county can help when researching more about the soldiers and their families.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System allows name searching for soldiers. The result set gives the regiments for the soldiers. Then you can check the Wiki regiment pages to determine counties. Often knowing the counties that had men in a regiment will help you determine if a soldier was your ancestor.

Spanish-American War (1898)

The Spanish-American War was largely fought in Cuba and the Philippines. Spanish-American War records might exist in the state from which the soldier served or in a state where the veteran later resided.

A published roster of soldiers that provides name, age, place of birth, occupation, physical description and service is C. U. Gantenbein, The Official Records of the Oregon Volunteers in the Spanish War and Philippine Insurrection, 2nd ed. (Salem, Oregon: J.R. Whitney, 1903) (Google Books); FHL fiche 6051175

There are two databases that contain records extracted from this book on Ancestry.com.

Philippine Insurrection (1898–1902)

A published roster of soldiers that provides name, age, place of birth, occupation, physical description and service is C. U. Gantenbein, The Official Records of the Oregon Volunteers in the Spanish War and Philippine Insurrection, 2nd ed. (Salem, Oregon: J.R. Whitney, 1903) FHL fiche6051175Google Books

There are two databases that contain records extracted from this book on Ancestry.com.

World War I draft registration cards for men ages 18 to 45 may list address, birth date, birthplace, race, nationality, citizenship, and next of kin. Not all registrants served in the war. These cards have been digitized and are searchable online.

Microfilm records of registration cards for Oregon are located at the Genealogical Forum of Oregon. They have created an index, which is available on their website.

WARNING: Be aware that when the original cards were microfilmed, a section for Portland were omitted. Repositories holding the microfilmed copies do not have thse records. The original cards are housed at the National Archives Southeast Region (Atlanta), Morrow, Georgia, and photocopied records of the missing section are available at the Genealogical Forum of Oregon, in Portland.

World War II (1941-1945)

Korean War (1950–1953)

The Korean War was a conflict between North Korea (and its communist allies) and South Korea (with support of the United Nations, primarily the United States). See the Korean War wiki article for information on records and their availability.

Vietnam War (1964–1972)

The Vietnam War was a conflict between North Vietnam (and its communist allies) and South Vietnam (with support of its anti-communist allies, including the United States). See the Vietnam War wiki article for information on records and their availability.